Editing Russell, Massachusetts (section)

==Geography==
Russell is in western Hampden County, bordered by [[Granville, Massachusetts|Granville]] to the south, [[Blandford, Massachusetts|Blandford]] to the west, [[Huntington, Massachusetts|Huntington]] to the north, [[Montgomery, Massachusetts|Montgomery]] to the northeast and [[Westfield, Massachusetts|Westfield]] to the southeast. The main village, [[Russell (CDP), Massachusetts|Russell]], is in the northwestern part of town and is a [[census-designated place]]. The village of Woronoco is in the eastern part of town. Both villages are along the [[Westfield River]] and are connected by [[U.S. Route 20 in Massachusetts|U.S. Route 20]], which leads southeast {{convert|8|mi|0}} to [[Westfield, Massachusetts|Westfield]] and northwest {{convert|27|mi}} to [[Lee, Massachusetts|Lee]]. [[Interstate 90]], the [[Massachusetts Turnpike]], crosses the center of Russell, but has no exits in the town.

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town of Russell has a total area of {{convert|46.0|km2|order=flip}}, of which {{convert|44.9|km2|order=flip}} are land and {{convert|1.1|km2|order=flip}}, or 2.39%, are water.<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web| url=https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/0600000US2501358650| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (G001): Russell town, Hampden County, Massachusetts| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau| work=American Factfinder| access-date=August 4, 2017| archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213160812/https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/0600000US2501358650| archive-date=February 13, 2020| url-status=dead}}</ref>

The town features two very different topographical sections: South Quarter is mainly uplands at elevations from {{convert|1000|to|1400|ft}} along the rim of a plateau west of the Connecticut River Valley, while the rest of the town is a deep valley along the swift Westfield River.

The South Quarter uplands end at an escarpment near the southeastern border of the town, the edge of a [[rift valley]] originating in the [[Mesozoic Era]] when Europe and North America separated. The [[Connecticut River]] still follows this rift valley, known as the [[Pioneer Valley]] for its early settlement by English [[Puritans]]. The escarpment between the South Quarter uplands and the valley is forested—too steep to farm—and dissected by streams that have eroded ravines back into the uplands.

Along the Westfield River valley, during the [[Pleistocene]] epoch, continental glaciers scraped away soil and steepened cliffs on hills around the valley, particularly on Mounts [[Tekoa Mountain (Massachusetts)|Tekoa]] and Shatterack east of the river, and on Turtle Bend Mountain standing in the middle of the valley. Although none of these peaks actually rises much above the surrounding plateau, their precipitous slopes make them appear impressively high from the valley.

As continental glaciers receded northward, a glacial moraine dammed the Connecticut River below [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]], producing {{convert|200|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} [[Lake Hitchcock]], with an arm extending northwest along the Westfield River. Gravel banks large enough to be commercially valuable were deposited in Russell where the river entered the erstwhile lake.

The river has three widely separated cascades within the town, dropping about {{convert|90|ft}} in total that figured in the township's industrial development, above.